How can I go on when every thought hurts I flirt with the notion of no more songs My old familiar foe, self pity, haunts me I'm stuck in some over-the-mountain town In a meaningless bar where fat handsRound the steiners And no one cares if it suns or pours In an hour between trainsBarney puts the record on And the aimless rise to dance Embrace me, my sweet embraceable youI see you, George, in your Apartment on Riverside Drive Some fifty years agoYour fingers on the keys Looking for the songLooking for that hook Embrace me, you irreplaceable youWho were you then? Did you have a woman? Were you hard up for cash? Did you ever know you'd be heard in The middle distance In some over-the-mountain town? Connecting to the muscles of the dancers In this close and smoky room

Who were you then? Were you sure of your tune? Or were your dreams and your courage all broken down like mine? Now there's something that clutches the heartA melody that stays

Year after year I love all the many charms about you Above all I want my arms around youI'm already late for my trainBut I don't think about that I think of you, GeorgeAt your piano, sweating in the summer heat

By the way, did you get your girl,Did you by your house in the country? Did you wait for something that never came? Did you die still waiting for your train? Don't be a naughty baby, come to mama Come to mama do

Some part of your heart twists and turns in mine Your soul rises There's an angel in charge There's one note that weeps the truth And makes my life mean something Just for the length of